ACA Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) Fees

Summary

This practice note explains the annual fee that must be paid by most health insurance policy issuers and sponsors of self-insured health plans to help fund the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI). The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) established the PCORI to promote research that evaluates and compares health outcomes and clinical effectiveness, risks, and benefits of medical treatment services and use of prescription drugs. The PCORI fee (also known as the comparative effectiveness research fee), which was originally scheduled to sunset in 2019, was extended for an additional 10 years through plan years ending before October 1, 2029. See Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020, Pub. L. No. 116-94, Div. N, § 104.